Wind passage for dehumidifying apparatus

ABSTRACT

The invention provides a dehumidifier air passage being capable of providing a sufficient effect of dehumidification and being excellent in mass productivity. A dehumidifier air passage  10  is used in a dehumidifier for removing moisture by making the outside air flow in the vicinity of the surface of a human body and the like, and comprises a nearly flat spacer  11  and a moisture transmittable sheet  21 . The spacer  11  is used for supporting the moisture transmittable sheet  21  and securing a space through which air flows, and has a nearly flat base  15  and a plurality of long and narrow projections  16 . Each of the projections  16  is formed so that the face of it facing the moisture transmittable sheet  21  is at most 50% in area of the face being in contact with the base  15 . A foamed plastic material is used as a material for the spacer  11 . The spacer  11  is manufactured by cutting a foamed plastic material or by molding a foamed plastic material.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a dehumidifier air passage to be usedin a dehumidifier such as a dehumidifying cushion, a dehumidifying mat,a dehumidifying mattress, dehumidifying clothes and the like forremoving moisture by making the outside air flow in the vicinity of thesurface of a human body and the like.

BACKGROUND ART

Up to now a cane cushion has been often used in a hot season such assummer and the like. Such a cane cushion is made by knitting cane, themeshes of which are knitted with large stitches. Due to this, air iseasy to naturally flow through the inside of such a cushion. When aperson is seated on such a cushion, the moisture exhaled from his or herhips is transmitted into the cushion and is carried off to the outsideby air flowing inside the cushion. The moisture around the hips can beremoved due to this. Such a cane cushion supports human hips andperforms a role as an air passage for making air flow inside the canecushion. Therefore, it is possible to realize a dehumidifier by usingsuch an air passage and making air forcibly flow through the airpassage.

By the way, in a dehumidifier as described above, what structure is usedas a dehumidifier air passage has a large influence on an effect ofdehumidification. And practically, it is desirable that a dehumidifierair passage is excellent in mass productivity.

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION

The present invention has been performed on the basis of theabove-mentioned circumstances and aims at providing a dehumidifier airpassage being capable of providing a sufficient effect ofdehumidification and being excellent in mass productivity.

The invention according to claim 1 for achieving the above-mentionedobject provides a dehumidifier air passage to be used in a dehumidifier,comprising a moisture transmittable member provided at a side to be incontact with a living thing and a nearly flat spacer for supporting saidmoisture transmittable member and for securing a space through which airflows, said dehumidifier carrying off the moisture transmitted into saidspace through said moisture transmittable member from the surface ofsaid living thing by means of air flowing through said space, whereinsaid spacer has a nearly flat base and a plurality of projections and isobtained by cutting a foamed plastic material or by molding a foamedplastic material, and said dehumidifier air passage has a forcedistributing means for distributing and applying a force applied fromsaid living thing to said spacer, said force distributing means beingprovided between said moisture transmittable member and said spacer.

The invention according to claim 2 for achieving the above-mentionedobject provides a dehumidifier air passage to be used in a dehumidifier,comprising a moisture transmittable member provided at a side to be incontact with a living thing and a nearly flat spacer for supporting saidmoisture transmittable member and for securing a space through which airflows, said dehumidifier carrying off the moisture transmitted into saidspace through said moisture transmittable member from the surface ofsaid living thing by means of air flowing through said space, whereinsaid spacer has a nearly flat base and a plurality of projections and isobtained by forming a plurality of depressions in a plastic film bymeans of a molding method and then stuffing up each of said depressionswith a pressure-resistive material.

The invention according to claim 3 for achieving the above-mentionedobject provides a dehumidifier air passage to be used in a dehumidifier,comprising a moisture transmittable member provided at a side to be incontact with a living thing and a nearly flat spacer for supporting saidmoisture transmittable member and for securing a space through which airflows, said dehumidifier carrying off the moisture transmitted into saidspace through said moisture transmittable member from the surface ofsaid living thing by means of air flowing through said space, whereinsaid spacer has a nearly flat base and a plurality of projections and isobtained by joining said plurality of projections onto said base.

The invention according to claim 4 for achieving the above-mentionedobject provides a dehumidifier air passage to be used in a dehumidifier,comprising a moisture transmittable member provided at a side to be incontact with a living thing and a nearly flat spacer for supporting saidmoisture transmittable member and for securing a space through which airflows, said dehumidifier carrying off the moisture transmitted into saidspace through said moisture transmittable member from the surface ofsaid living thing by means of air flowing through said space, whereinsaid spacer is obtained by molding a meshed member.

The invention according to claim 5 for achieving the above-mentionedobject provides a dehumidifying clothes air passage to be used indehumidifying clothes, comprising a nearly flat spacer for securing aspace through which air flows between a human body or underwear and aclothes material, said dehumidifying clothes carrying off the moisturewhich has come into said space from the surface of said human body bymeans of air flowing through said space, wherein said spacer is obtainedby molding a meshed member.

The invention according to claim 12 for achieving the above-mentionedobject provides a dehumidifier air passage to be used in a dehumidifier,comprising a moisture transmittable mat provided at a side to be incontact with a living thing and a nearly flat spacer for supporting saidmoisture transmittable mat and for securing a space through which airflows, said dehumidifier carrying off the moisture transmitted into saidspace through said moisture transmittable mat from the surface of saidliving thing by means of air flowing through said space, wherein saidspacer has a nearly flat base and a plurality of rail-shaped projectionsformed in parallel with one another on said base and is obtained by anextrusion molding method, and said dehumidifier air passage has a forcedistributing means for distributing and applying a force applied fromsaid living thing to said spacer, said force distributing means beingprovided between said spacer and said moisture transmittable mat.

The invention according to claim 13 for achieving the above-mentionedobject provides a dehumidifier air passage to be used in a dehumidifier,comprising a moisture transmittable mat provided at a side to be incontact with a living thing and a nearly flat spacer for supporting saidmoisture transmittable mat and for securing a space through which airflows, said dehumidifier carrying off the moisture transmitted into saidspace through said moisture transmittable mat from the surface of saidliving thing by means of air flowing through said space, wherein saidmoisture transmittable mat has a thermal insulation ability and the aircontent of said moisture transmittable mat is at least 0.05 cc per areaof 12 cm² in a plane nearly perpendicular to the direction of thicknessof said spacer.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 a is a schematic plan view of a dehumidifying cushion being adehumidifier to which a dehumidifier air passage according to a firstembodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 1 b is aschematic sectional view of the dehumidifying cushion seen from thedirection of arrow A-A.

FIG. 2 a is a schematic plan view of a spacer to be used in adehumidifier air passage according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 b isa schematic side view of the spacer, and FIG. 2 c is a schematicsectional view of the spacer seen from the direction of arrow B-B.

FIG. 3 is a figure for explaining an external shape of the spacer.

FIG. 4 a is a schematic plan view of a dehumidifying mat being adehumidifier to which a dehumidifier air passage according to a secondembodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 4 b is aschematic sectional view of the dehumidifying mat seen from thedirection of arrow C-C.

FIG. 5 is a figure showing an example of a spacer to be used in adehumidifier air passage according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 6 is a figure showing an example of a moisture transmittable sheetand a force distributing means to be used in a dehumidifier air passageaccording to the second embodiment.

FIG. 7 is a figure for explaining another spacer to be used in adehumidifier air passage according to the second embodiment.

FIG. 8 a is a schematic plan view of another spacer to be used in adehumidifier air passage according to the second embodiment, and FIG. 8b is a schematic side view of this spacer.

FIG. 9 a is a schematic plan view of a dehumidifying mattress being adehumidifier to which a dehumidifier air passage according to a thirdembodiment of the present invention is applied, and FIG. 9 b is aschematic sectional view of the dehumidifying mattress seen from thedirection of arrow D-D.

FIG. 10 a is a schematic plan view of a spacer to be used in adehumidifier air passage according to the third embodiment, and FIG. 10b is a schematic side view of this spacer.

FIG. 11 a is a schematic plan view of a spacer to be used in an airpassage for dehumidifying clothes, and FIG. 11 b is a schematic sideview of this spacer.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

A dehumidifier air passage according to a first embodiment of thepresent invention is described in the following. FIG. 1 a is a schematicplan view of a dehumidifying cushion being a dehumidifier to which adehumidifier air passage according to the first embodiment of thepresent invention is applied, FIG. 1 b is a schematic sectional view ofthe dehumidifying cushion seen from the direction of arrow A-A, FIG. 2 ais a schematic plan view of a spacer to be used in a dehumidifier airpassage according to the first embodiment, FIG. 2 b is a schematic sideview of the spacer, FIG. 2 c is a schematic sectional view of the spacerseen from the direction of arrow B-B, and FIG. 3 is a figure forexplaining an external shape of the spacer.

A dehumidifying cushion shown in FIG. 1 is used as a dehumidifier forremoving the moisture coming out from the surface of the hips of aperson being seated on it. In the first embodiment, the case of usingsuch a dehumidifying cushion placed on a chair is considered. It is amatter of course that such a cushion can be also used being placed on abench, a sofa or the like.

As shown in FIG. 1, this dehumidifying cushion comprises a dehumidifierair passage 10 being nearly in the shape of a square, a connectingpassage 41, an air inlet 42, an air outlet 43, a DC fan 44 as a blowingmeans, a battery 45, a main switch 51 and a pressure switch 52.

As shown in FIG. 1, the dehumidifier air passage 10 has a nearly flatspacer 11 and a moisture transmittable sheet (moisture transmittablemember) 21. In FIG. 1 b, the right side face of the dehumidifier airpassage 10 is the air inlet 42 for taking in the external air into thesaid air passage 10.

The spacer 11 is used for supporting the moisture transmittable sheet 21and securing a space through which air flows. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2,this spacer 11 has a nearly flat base 15 and a plurality of long andnarrow projections 16. Each of the projections 16 is arranged regularlyso that the longitudinal direction of it is directed to a specifieddirection. These projections 16 are physically and continuouslyconnected to one another through the nearly flat base 15. The spacebetween adjacent projections 16 becomes a space through which air flows.

Since such a spacer 11 can be thought to be obtained by dividing each oflong rail-shaped projections into plural parts, it is called a spacer of“a divided rail type”. On the contrary, a spacer having a plurality oflong rail-shaped projections arranged in parallel with one another iscalled a spacer of “a continuous rail type”. For example, a spacer shownin FIG. 10 is of a continuous rail type. In the first embodiment, aspacer of a continuous rail type may be used in place of a spacer of adivided rail type 11. However, a spacer of a continuous rail type ispoor in flexibility along the longitudinal direction of the projectionsdepending on its material. The spacer of a divided rail type 11 has beenimproved in this point and further has an advantage of making itpossible to make air flow not only in the longitudinal direction of theprojections but also in a direction perpendicular to the saidlongitudinal direction.

Foamed plastic, for example, foamed urethane is used as a material forthe spacer 11. Due to this, such a spacer 11 is characterized by beinglight in weight and additionally excellent in flexibility.

This spacer 11 can be manufactured by a method as shown in thefollowing. A first method is a method of cutting a foamed plasticmaterial. That is to say, a foamed plastic material having a thicknessobtained by adding the thickness of the base 15 and the height of theprojections 16 to each other is prepared. And the spacer 11 can beeasily manufactured by cutting such a foamed plastic material into aspecified shape. A second method is a method of thermally press-forminga foamed plastic material. That is to say, a nearly flat foamed plasticmaterial is placed between two metal molds. And the spacer can be easilymanufactured by pressing the two metal molds against each other asheating them. In case of using a spacer of a continuous rail type as thespacer 11, the spacer 11 can be easily manufactured also byextrusion-molding a foamed plastic material.

In the first embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2 c, each of the projections16 is formed so that the sectional shape of it when it is cut by a planeperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of it is a nearly taperedshape. Exactly speaking, each of the projections 16 is formed so thatits face being opposite to the moisture transmittable sheet 21 is atmost 50% in area of the face to be in contact with the base 15. Using aspacer 11 having such projections 16 stands to reason in the followingpoints. That is to say, firstly, since a projection 16 is structurallywider at the lower side than at the upper side, the projection 16 can bemore enhanced in strength. Secondly, the contact area between eachprojection 16 and the moisture transmittable sheet 21 can be madesmaller. If the said contact area is made larger, the contacting portionis surely filled with moisture but such a phenomenon does not occur inthe first embodiment. Thirdly, since a space around the upper part ofthe spacer 11 is larger in comparison with a space around the lower partof it, it is possible to increase the quantity of air flowing near themoisture transmittable sheet 21. Due to this, the effect ofdehumidification can be enhanced. And the sectional shape of aprojection 16 perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of it is notlimited to a nearly tapered shape. For example, the projections 16 maybe in a nearly corrugated shape as shown in FIG. 3.

In FIG. 1 a, the moisture transmittable sheet 21 wraps the obverse andreverse faces and the upper and lower side faces of the spacer 11 in it.A person results in being seated on the moisture transmittable sheet 21provided on the upper face of the spacer 11. The right side face of thespacer 11 is opened so as to be capable of inhaling air. This openedpart is the air inlet 42. And the left side face of the spacer 11 is ofcourse opened to form a connection face to the connecting passage 41.

As a material for the moisture transmittable sheet 21, any of materialseasily transmitting water vapor through them may be used and forexample, a high-density cloth or a general cloth can be used. Ahigh-density cloth in this case refers to cloth woven using about 300lines of yarn per centimeter. And as the moisture transmittable sheet21, it is desirable to use a material being small in thermal resistance.The reason for this is as follows. That is to say, a dehumidifyingcushion provides a dehumidifying effect due to a fact that the moistureexhaled from the hips of a person being seated on a moisturetransmittable sheet 21 is transmitted through the moisture transmittablesheet 21 and is carried off by air flowing through the dehumidifier airpassage 10. At this time, it is possible to realize a sharp temperaturegradient in the vicinity of the surface of the hips by making theoutside air being lower in temperature than a body temperature flowthrough the dehumidifier air passage 10. Since it is possible toincrease the quantity of heat emitted from the surface of the body dueto this sharp temperature gradient, in the said dehumidifying cushion asecondary effect of cooling the hips can be also expected in addition toa dehumidifying effect. In a dehumidifying cushion aiming at not onlydehumidifying but also cooling, therefore, a cooling effect as describedabove can be easily obtained by making it easy for heat to betransmitted from the hips to the dehumidifier air passage 10 throughreducing the thermal resistance of the moisture transmittable sheet 21.

In case of applying a dehumidifier air passage 10 to a dehumidifyingcushion aiming at only dehumidification, the quantity of air flowingthrough the dehumidifier air passage 10 may be less in comparison withthe case of applying it to a dehumidifying cushion aiming at both ofdehumidification and cooling. In such a case therefore there is noproblem even if the resistance which air flowing through a dehumidifierair passage 10 receives from a spacer 11 is somewhat high.

As shown in FIG.1, the connecting passage 41 is a space connected to thedehumidifier air passage 10 and is attached to one of side faces of thedehumidifier air passage 10. The air outlet 43 for taking out air withinthe connecting passage 41 to the outside is provided in a nearly middlelower part of the connecting passage 41. The DC fan 44 is installed in aboundary area between the air outlet 43 and the connecting passage 41.This DC fan 44 generates forcibly the flow of air within thedehumidifier air passage 10 and the connecting passage 41. When the DCfan is driven, the outside air flows through the air inlet 42 into thedehumidifier air passage 10, passes through the dehumidifier air passage10 and reaches the connecting passage 41. And this air is discharged bythe DC fan 44 through the air outlet 43 to the outside.

The battery 45 is a power source for driving the DC fan 44. Such abattery 45 may be an ordinary dry cell but preferably it is a chargeablesecondary battery so as to be capable of being charged by a commercialpower supply when the dehumidifying cushion is not used.

The pressure switch 52 is provided in a nearly middle upper part of thedehumidifier air passage 10. The main switch 51 and the pressure switch52 are connected in series with each other, and when both of them areon, electric power is supplied from the battery 45 to the DC fan 44.

In case of using a dehumidifying cushion, the dehumidifying cushion isplaced on a chair so that the connecting passage 41 is located at therear side (the back side) of the chair. Ordinarily, a humidifyingcushion is placed so that the air outlet 43 faces downward, but it maybe used upside down depending on the structure of a chair. When a personis seated on the dehumidifying cushion in this state, the pressureswitch 52 detects the seating to be turned on. Further, when the mainswitch 51 has been turned on, the DC fan 44 is rotated so as to inhalethe outside air through the air inlet 42. The inhaled air flows throughthe dehumidifier air passage 10 and then is discharged by the DC fan 44through the air outlet 43 to the outside.

In such a dehumidifying cushion, the moisture exhaled from the surfaceof hips is transmitted through the moisture transmittable sheet 21 andenters the dehumidifier air passage 10. And the moisture which hasentered is carried off to the outside by air flowing through thedehumidifier air passage 10. Due to this, when a person is seated on adehumidifying cushion, the person can comfortably spend his or her timewithout a fact that the hips become moist due to sweat exhaled from thehips.

A dehumidifier air passage of the first embodiment uses a spacer whichhas a nearly flat base and a plurality of projections and ismanufactured by cutting a foamed plastic material or by molding a foamedplastic material. Due to this, such a dehumidifier air passage islightweight and flexible. And since a spacer can be easily manufactured,such a dehumidifier air passage is excellent in mass productivity.Accordingly, a dehumidifier air passage of the first embodiment issuitable for various kinds of dehumidifiers carrying off the moisture,which has been transmitted from the surface of a human body through amoisture transmittable sheet into a spacer, by means of air flowingthrough the spacer.

Next, a second embodiment of the present invention is described withreference to the drawings. FIG. 4 a is a schematic plan view of adehumidifying mat being a dehumidifier to which a dehumidifier airpassage according to the second embodiment of the present invention isapplied, FIG. 4 b is a schematic sectional view of the dehumidifying matseen from the direction of arrow C-C, FIG. 5 is a figure showing anexample of a spacer to be used in a dehumidifier air passage accordingto the second embodiment, and FIG. 6 is a figure showing an example of amoisture transmittable sheet and a force distributing means to be usedin a dehumidifier air passage according to the second embodiment. In thesecond embodiment, things having the same functions as those of thefirst embodiment are given the same symbols or corresponding symbols anddetailed description of them is omitted.

A dehumidifying mat shown in FIG. 4 is used as a dehumidifier forremoving the moisture coming out from the surface of the body when aperson is lying on it. In the second embodiment, the case of using sucha dehumidifying mat being placed on a bed is considered. Such adehumidifying mat can be also used being placed on a sofa or a floor.

As shown in FIG. 4, this dehumidifying mat comprises a dehumidifier airpassage 10 a being nearly in the shape of a rectangle, a connectingpassage 41, an air inlet 42, an air outlet 43, a DC fan 44 as a blowingmeans, a main switch 51, a flow rate adjusting knob 53, a timer 54 and aplug 61. And the dehumidifier air passage 10 a has a nearly flat spacer11 a, a moisture transmittable sheet (moisture transmittable member) 21and a force distributing means 22.

The spacer 11 a is used for supporting the moisture transmittable sheet21 and securing a space through which air flows. A plan view and a sideview of this spacer 11 a are nearly the same as those shown in FIG. 2 ofthe first embodiment. This spacer 11 a has a nearly flat base 15 a and aplurality of long and narrow projections 16 a. Each of the projections16 a is arranged regularly so that the longitudinal direction of it isdirected to a specified direction. These projections 16 a are physicallyand continuously connected to one another through the nearly flat base15 a. The space between adjacent projections 16 a becomes a spacethrough which air flows. Thus, such a spacer 11 a is also of a dividedrail type similarly to the spacer in the first embodiment. And in thesecond embodiment also, similarly to the first embodiment, theprojections 16 a are formed so that the shape obtained by cutting themwith a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction of them is anearly tapered shape or a nearly corrugated shape.

In the second embodiment, a plastic film is used as a material for thebase 15 a. Concretely, a polyethylene film of several ten microns inthickness is used. Generally it is desirable that the thickness of thisbase 15 a is 1 mm or less. And the inside of each projection 16 a isstuffed up with a pressure-resistive material capable of confronting apressure from the outside. A material being less in specific gravity incomparison with a material for the base 15 a is used as thispressure-resistive material. For example, a foamed plastic material isused. Due to this, such a spacer 11 a is characterized by beinglightweight and flexible and furthermore being inexpensive.

This spacer 11 a can be manufactured in a manner as described below.First, a plastic film is placed on a metal mold having depressionscorresponding to the projections 16 a. And a plurality of depressionsare formed in the plastic film by vacuum-molding the plastic film asheating the metal mold. These depressions become the projections 16 alater. Next, the depressions of the plastic film are stuffed up with anadhesive pressure-resistive material for example. Thus, a spacer 11 acan be easily manufactured. A spacer 11 a manufactured by such a methodis shown in FIG. 5 a. Hereupon, FIG. 5 is a schematic sectional view ofpart of a spacer 11 a obtained by cutting the spacer 11 a with a planeperpendicular to the longitudinal direction of the projections 16 a. Anda pressure-resistive material in the shape of small particles may beused in place of an adhesive pressure-resistive material. In this case,after the depressions of the plastic film are stuffed up with apressure-resistive material in the shape of particles, the reverse faceof the plastic film is laminated with another plastic film so that thepressure-resistive material in the shape of particles does not fly away.A spacer 11 a manufactured by such a method is shown in FIG. 5 b. Aspacer 11 a may be continuously manufactured by molding as turning ametal mold formed into the shape of a roll.

The force distributing means 22 and the moisture transmittable sheet 21are provided in this order over the projections 16 a of the spacer 11 a.The moisture transmittable sheet 21 is nearly the same as that of thefirst embodiment and wraps the obverse face and the upper and lower sidefaces of the spacer 11 a in it in FIG. 4 a. The force distributing means22 is used for distributing and applying a force applied from a personlying down on the moisture transmittable sheet 21 to the spacer 11 a. Asthe force distributing means 22, for example a meshed material is used.In general, a force distributing means 22 does not necessarily need tobe meshed but may be any material being flexible, small in thermalresistance and excellent in moisture transmittance.

And by using this force distributing means 22, it is possible tosuppress a rugged feeling caused by pressing of the projections 16 a ofthe spacer 11 a against the body and prevent parts of the moisturetransmittable sheet 21 coming in between the projections 16 a of thespacer 11 a from hindering the flow of air. It is desirable also toprovide a force distributing means in a dehumidifier air passage of theabove-mentioned first embodiment.

In the second embodiment, such a force distributing means 22 and amoisture transmittable sheet 21 are formed into one body. In order toform the moisture transmittable sheet 21 and the force distributingmeans 22 into one body, it is enough to laminate the force distributingmeans 22 on the reverse face of the moisture transmittable sheet 21. Orin case of making cloth for the reverse face of the moisturetransmittable sheet 21, it is enough to knit thick threads for structureinto the said cloth at regular intervals along the longitudinal and/orlateral direction. Hereupon, whether threads for structure are to beknitted in the shape of meshes or at regular intervals along onedirection may be determined according to the shape of the projections 16a of the spacer 11 a. For example, in case that each projection 16 a islong and narrow, threads for structure are knitted in the reverse faceof a moisture transmittable sheet 21 at regular intervals along onedirection as shown in FIG. 6. And the moisture transmittable sheet 21 isplaced on the spacer 11 a so that the knitting direction and thelongitudinal direction of the projections 16 a are perpendicular to eachother. The force distributing means 22 and the moisture transmittablesheet 21 can be easily formed into one body by means of such a method.

The connecting passage 41, the air inlet 42, the air outlet 43, the DCfan 44 and the main switch 51 are nearly the same as those of the firstembodiment.

The flow rate adjusting knob 53 is used for adjusting the quantity ofair flowing through the dehumidifier air passage 10 a by varying thespeed of rotation of the DC fan 44. The timer 54 is used for setting thetime of automatically stopping the operation of the DC fan 44. The plug61 is used for connecting the dehumidifying mat to a commercial powersupply.

In case of using a dehumidifying mat, ordinarily the dehumidifying matis placed on a bed so that the air outlet 43 faces downward. When themain switch 51 is turned on, the DC fan 44 is rotated so as to inhalethe outside air through the air inlet 42. The inhaled air flows throughthe dehumidifier air passage 10 a and then is discharged by the DC fan44 through the air outlet 43 to the outside.

In such a dehumidifying mat, the moisture exhaled from the surface of ahuman body is transmitted through the moisture transmittable sheet 21and comes into the dehumidifier air passage 10 a. And the moisture whichhas come in is carried off to the outside by air flowing through thedehumidifier air passage 10 a. Due to this, when a person lies on adehumidifying mat, he or she can comfortably spend his or her timewithout a fact that his or her body becomes moist with perspiration dueto sweat exhaled from the human body.

A dehumidifier air passage of the second embodiment uses a spacer whichhas a nearly flat base and a plurality of projections and ismanufactured by forming a plurality of depressions in a plastic film bymeans of a molding method and then stuffing up each of the depressionswith a pressure-resistive material. By using a foamed plastic materialas the pressure-resistive material in this case, it is possible to makesuch a dehumidifier air passage more lightweight and flexible. And sucha dehumidifier air passage is suitable for mass production and veryexcellent in cost performance. The problem of cost is importantparticularly in case of forming a large-size dehumidifier air passage.Accordingly, a dehumidifier air passage of the second embodiment issuitable for the use in a dehumidifier for a mat, a mattress, bed andthe like for example where a large-size dehumidifier air passage needsto be formed. A spacer in such a dehumidifier air passage can bear aheavy load. Therefore, when a person stands on a dehumidifier using thesaid air passage, the said air passage is not broken.

And in a dehumidifier air passage of the second embodiment, forming aforce distributing means and a moisture transmittable sheet into onebody makes it easy to manufacture and assemble the dehumidifier airpassage.

In the second embodiment described above, a plurality of holes may bemade in the base 15 a of the spacer 11 a according to need. In case thata DC fan 44 forces air to flow through a spacer 11 a there is noproblem, but in case that the DC fan 44 is at a stop, the inside of thespacer 11 a may become moist. In such a case, it is possible to make themoisture go out to the outside by providing holes.

And in the second embodiment described above, although there has beendescribed the case of using a spacer manufactured by forming a pluralityof depressions in a plastic film by means of a molding method and thenstuffing up each of the depressions with a pressure-resistive material,various spacers other than this spacer can be used. FIG. 7 is a figurefor explaining another spacer to be used in a dehumidifier air passageaccording to the second embodiment.

A spacer 11 b shown in FIG. 7 has a nearly flat base 15 b and aplurality of long and narrow projections 16 b, and is obtained byjoining the plurality of projections 16 b onto the base 15 b. A planview and a side view of this spacer 11 b are nearly the same as thoseshown in FIG. 2 of the first embodiment. And FIG. 7 is a schematicsectional view of part of the spacer 11 b obtained by cutting the saidspacer 11 b with a plane perpendicular to the longitudinal direction ofthe projections 16 b.

In addition to a plastic film, cloth or meshed materials can be used asa material for the base 15 b. And a pressure-resistive material beingdifferent from a material for the base 15 b and capable of confronting apressure from the outside is used as a material for the projections 16b. That is to say, a material being smaller in specific gravity incomparison with a material for the base 15 b, for example, a foamedplastic material is used as a pressure-resistive material. Due to this,such a spacer 11 b is characterized by being lightweight and flexibleand furthermore being inexpensive similarly to the spacer shown in FIG.5.

This spacer 11 b can be manufactured in a manner as described below.First, a metal mold having depressions corresponding to projections 16 bis heated and a foamed plastic material is poured into the depressions.And the foamed plastic material adhering to other parts than thedepressions is removed by means of a spatula or the like. Next, a nearlyflat base 15 b is placed on the metal mold and the foamed plasticmaterial contained in the depressions is made to adhere to the base 15b. Hereupon, in case of using a plastic film as the base 15 b, since thefoamed plastic material adheres to the plastic film, an adhesive agentis not necessary. And in case of using cloth or a meshed material as thebase 15 b, a liquefied foamed plastic material soaks into cloth or thelike, and thereby the base 15 b and the projections 16 b can be formedinto one body. In such a manner a spacer 11 b can be easilymanufactured. The spacer 11 b can be continuously manufactured by makingthe base 15 b and the foamed plastic material adhere to each other asrotating a metal mold formed in the shape of a roll.

A dehumidifier air passage manufactured using such a spacer 11 bprovides a similar effect to that of the second embodiment describedabove.

And another spacer is described. FIG. 8 a is a schematic plan view ofanother spacer to be used in a dehumidifier air passage according to thesecond embodiment, and FIG. 8 b is a schematic side view of this spacer.

A spacer 11 c shown in FIG. 8 has a nearly flat base 15 c and aplurality of projections 16 c. Each of the projections 16 c is arrangedregularly so that the longitudinal direction of it is directed to aspecified direction. And the spacer 11 c is obtained by molding a meshedmember. Due to this, such a spacer 11 c is lightweight and flexible.Further, the resistance which air flowing through the spacer 11 creceives from the projections 16 c is a little and the air can smoothlyflow around the projections 16 c. Therefore, if the meshes of a meshedmember are not so small in mesh size, the density of forming theprojections 16 c can be made large. This is a characteristic point ofthe said spacer 11 c not found in other spacers.

A plastic material for example can be used as a meshed member being amaterial for a spacer 11 c. In this case the spacer 11 c can bemanufactured by thermal press-forming. That is to say, a meshed memberis first placed between two metal molds. And the spacer 11 c can beeasily manufactured by heating and pressing the two metal molds againsteach other.

A dehumidifier air passage manufactured using such a spacer 11 cprovides a similar effect to that of the second embodiment describedabove.

It might be feared that in a dehumidifier air passage having such aspacer 11 c, in case of providing no cloth or the like under the spacer11 c, air flowing through the spacer 11 c may leak to the outside fromthere. However, since a dehumidifier air passage is ordinarily installedso that its bottom is placed on a floor or the like, there is no problemif the bottom of the spacer 11 c is not covered with cloth or the like.

Although there has been described the case of forming a forcedistributing means and a moisture transmittable sheet into one body inthe second embodiment described above, the force distributing means andthe moisture transmittable sheet do not necessarily need to be formedinto one body. And a meshed member may be used as a force distributingmeans and this meshed member may be joined to the projections of aspacer so as not to slacken. In this case, a thin and soft material tobe used in a screen door and the like for example is used as a materialfor the meshed member. This meshed member is joined to the projectionsof the spacer by means of an adhesive agent and the like so as not toslacken. Due to this, since the meshed member can keep its shape when athing is placed on it, it can perform its role as a force distributingmeans.

And a moisture transmittable sheet may have a role as a forcedistributing means. That is to say, for example, a moisturetransmittable sheet may be joined to the projections of a spacer so asnot to slacken without providing an independent force distributingmeans. In this case, the moisture transmittable sheet is joined to theprojections by means of an adhesive agent and the like. Due to this,since the moisture transmittable sheet can keep its shape when a thingis placed on it, it can perform its role as a force distributing means.

Next, a third embodiment of the present invention is described withreference to the drawings. FIG. 9 a is a schematic plan view of adehumidifying mattress being a dehumidifier to which a dehumidifier airpassage according to the third embodiment of the present invention isapplied, FIG. 9 b is a schematic sectional view of the dehumidifyingmattress seen from the direction of arrow D-D, Fig. 10 a is a schematicplan view of a spacer to be used in a dehumidifier air passage accordingto the third embodiment, and FIG. 10 b is a schematic side view of thisspacer. In the third embodiment, things having the same functions asthose of the first and second embodiments are given the same symbols orcorresponding symbols and detailed description of them is omitted.

A dehumidifying mattress shown in FIG. 9 is used as a dehumidifier forremoving the moisture coming out from the surface of the body when aperson lies down on it. In the third embodiment, the case of using sucha dehumidifying mattress for the purpose of only dehumidification isconsidered. That is to say, the use of it does not aim at cooling ahuman body.

As shown in FIG. 9, this dehumidifying mattress comprises a dehumidifierair passage 10 d being nearly in the shape of a rectangle, a connectingpassage 41, an air inlet 42, an air outlet 43, a DC fan 44 as a blowingmeans, a controller 50, a plug 61 and a cord 62.

The dehumidifier air passage 10 d has a nearly flat spacer lid, a forcedistributing means 22 d and a moisture transmittable mat (moisturetransmittable member) 23, as shown in FIG. 9. In FIG. 9 a, the rightside face of the dehumidifier air passage 10 d is the air outlet 43 fordischarging air within the said air passage 10 d to the outside.

The spacer lid is used for supporting the moisture transmittable mat 23and securing a space through which air flows. This spacer lid is of acontinuous rail type, and has a nearly flat base 15 d and a plurality ofrail-shaped projections 16 d, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. The pluralityof rail-shaped projections 16 d are arranged at regular intervals sothat the longitudinal direction of them is in parallel with the shortside of the nearly flat base 15 d. These projections 16 d are physicallyand continuously connected to one another through the nearly flat base15 d. The space between adjacent projections 16 d becomes a spacethrough which air flows.

In the third embodiment, the spacer 11 d is manufactured byextrusion-molding a polycarbonate material. That is to say, the spacer11 d is formed by pouring the heated and liquefied polycarbonatematerial into metal molds. The reason why an extrusion-molding processusing metal molds can be performed is that any part of the spacer 11 dalong the direction of thickness of it does not overlap another partwith a space between them.

A spacer 11 d of a continuous rail type can bear a heavier load incomparison with a spacer of a divided rail type. Furthermore,polycarbonate is a very strong material. Therefore, a spacer 11 d of acontinuous rail type made of polycarbonate is characterized by beingvery excellent in strength. Due to this, the spacer 11 d shown in FIG.10 is suitable for being used in a dehumidifier such as a mattress andthe like.

A force distributing means 22 d is provided over the projections 16 d ofthe spacer 11 d. The force distributing means 22 d is used fordistributing and applying a force applied from a person when he or shelies down on a moisture transmittable mat 23 to the spacer 11 d. Sincesuch a force distributing means 22 d is provided between the spacer 11 dand the moisture transmittable mat 23, a material being excellent inmoisture transmittance needs to be used as the force distributing means22 d so that moisture can be transmitted between them. And since thespacer 11 d supports a thick moisture transmittable mat 23 in the thirdembodiment, a material being excellent in strength needs to be used asthe force distributing means 22 d. Considering these points, it isdesirable to use, for example, a strong meshed member or a plastic platehaving a number of small holes made in it as the force distributingmeans 22 d. In the third embodiment, the force distributing means 22 ddoes not necessarily need to be flexible.

A moisture transmittable mat 23 is used for a person to lie down on itand is placed on a force distributing means 22 d. A material being 2 mmor more in thickness and flexible is used as this moisture transmittablemat 23. It is possible to improve one's feeling in bed by using such amoisture transmittable mat 23.

By the way, generally in a dehumidifier aiming at not only dehumidifyingbut also cooling a human body, it is desirable to use a moisturetransmittable mat being as thin and small as possible in thickness andthermal resistance. The reason is that heat from a human body can beeasily moved into a dehumidifier air passage. On the other hand, in adehumidifier aiming at only dehumidification, since cooling does notneed to be considered, it is desirable to use a moisture transmittablemat having a large thermal resistance, namely, a thermal insulatingability. Due to this, in the third embodiment, a moisture transmittablemat having a thermal insulating ability is used as a moisturetransmittable mat 23. The thermal insulating ability of a moisturetransmittable mat 23 is generally determined by the quantity of aircontained by the moisture transmittable mat 23.

Now, the quantity of air per area of 1 cm² in a plane nearlyperpendicular to the direction of thickness (height) of a spacer 11 dwhen a person mounts the moisture transmittable mat 23 to apply apressure to the mat 23 is considered as the air content of a moisturetransmittable mat 23. If the air content of the moisture transmittablemat 23 is at least 0.05 cc per the said area of 1 cm², the moisturetransmittable mat 23 is considered to have a sufficient thermalinsulating ability. Particularly, if the air content of the moisturetransmittable mat 23 is 0.1 cc per the said area of 1 cm², the moisturetransmittable mat 23 can be said to have an almost complete thermalinsulating ability. Hereupon, that the air content of the moisturetransmittable mat 23 is 0.1 cc per the said area of 1 cm² is nearlyequal to a fact that a thermal insulation is performed by an air layerof 1 mm in thickness.

A moisture transmittable sheet may be provided between the spacer 11 dand the moisture transmittable mat 23 similarly to the first embodimentdescribed above.

The connecting passage 41 is a space connected to the dehumidifier airpassage 10 d and is provided at the left side of the dehumidifier airpassage 10 d in FIG. 9 a. The DC fan 44 is installed at the lower end ofthe connecting passage 41. An opening of the portion at which the DC fan44 is installed becomes the air inlet 42 for taking the outside air intothe connecting passage 41. The DC fan 44 forcibly generates the flow ofair within the dehumidifier air passage 10 d and the connecting passage41. When the DC fan 44 is driven, the outside air flows through the airinlet 42 into the connecting passage 41, passes through the connectingpassage 41 and reaches the dehumidifier air passage 10 d. And this airis discharged through the air outlet 43 to the outside.

A controller 50 is connected through the cord 62 to the DC fan 44. Thiscontroller 50 has the main switch 51, the flow rate adjusting knob 53and the timer 54. The main switch 51, the flow rate adjusting knob 53and the timer 54 are the same as those of the second embodiment. And theplug 61 is used for connection with a commercial power supply.

In case of using a dehumidifying mattress, when the main switch 51 isturned on, the DC fan 44 is rotated so as to inhale the outside airthrough the air inlet 42. The inhaled air flows through the connectingpassage 41 and then comes into the dehumidifier air passage 10 d. Andthis air flows from the right side to the left side of a lying personand is discharged through the air outlet 43 to the outside.

When a person lies down on a moisture transmittable mat 23, moisturesuch as sweat and the like is exhaled from the human body. And themoisture transmittable mat 23 becomes moist due to such moisture. Thismoisture can be transmitted into the dehumidifier air passage 10 d andcarried off by air flowing through the dehumidifier air passage 10 d tothe outside. Due to this, moisture of the moisture transmittable mat 23can be removed and therefore, a lying person can pass his or hercomfortable time without becoming moist due to sweat exhaled from thehuman body. And such a dehumidifying mattress is preferable in beingused in a mattress to be a so-called long unmade bed in case that aperson lies in a sickbed. Due to this, since a human body does notbecome moist, it is possible to prevent bedsores from forming.

For example, a cushion material may be provided under the base 15 d ofthe spacer 11 d in order to make the dehumidifier air passage 10 dflexible.

A dehumidifier air passage of the third embodiment uses a spacer whichhas a nearly flat base and a plurality of rail-shaped projections formedon the base so as to be in parallel with one another and is manufacturedby means of an extrusion molding method. Due to this, such adehumidifier air passage can bear a heavy load. Therefore, adehumidifier air passage of the third embodiment is particularlysuitable for being used in a dehumidifier for a mattress and the like.And this dehumidifier air passage is excellent in mass productivity.

And in the third embodiment, since a moisture transmittable mat havingthe air content being at least 0.05 cc per area of 1 cm² in a planeperpendicular to the direction of thickness of a spacer is used as amoisture transmittable mat, this moisture transmittable mat is excellentin thermal insulation. Therefore, a dehumidifier air passage having sucha moisture transmittable mat is preferable for being used in adehumidifier aiming at only dehumidification.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodimentsbut enables various variations and combinations within the scope of itspurport.

Although there have been described the cases that a dehumidifier airpassage of the present invention is applied to a dehumidifying cushion,a dehumidifying mat and a dehumidifying mattress in the above-mentionedembodiments, in addition to these it is possible also to apply thepresent invention to, for example, a dehumidifying chair the seat ofwhich is provided with the said air passage, dehumidifying clothes thereverse face of which is provided with the said air passage on it, adehumidifying shoe the sole of which is provided with the said airpassage, a dehumidifying pillow provided with the said air passage, andthe like.

Hereupon, dehumidifying clothes are described as an example. In suchdehumidifying clothes, a dehumidifier air passage is attached to thereverse face of a clothes material. This dehumidifier air passagecomprises a nearly flat spacer for securing a space in which air flowsnearly in parallel with the surface of body between a human body orunderwear and a clothes material. Such dehumidifying clothes candehumidify a wearer by carrying off the moisture which has come into adehumidifier air passage from the surface of a human body by means ofair flowing through this air passage.

And in the above-mentioned embodiments, the strength of pressureresistance of a spacer is determined depending on the purpose of use andthe like of a dehumidifier to which the said dehumidifier air passage isapplied. For example, in case that the said dehumidifier air passage isapplied to a mattress, a spacer being capable of bearing the weight of aperson is used. And in case that the said dehumidifier air passage isapplied to clothes, since a spacer is not subject to a heavy load, it isenough to use a spacer capable of bearing a small force. Due to this, incase of dehumidifying clothes, a spacer results in attaching moreimportance to its light weight than its strength of pressure resistance.Concretely, it is preferable to use a spacer shown in FIG. 5, 7 or 8 asa spacer to be applied to dehumidifying clothes.

In case of applying a dehumidifier air passage to dehumidifying clothes,it is particularly desirable to use a spacer shown in FIG. 11. FIG. 11 ais a schematic plan view of a spacer to be used in an air passage fordehumidifying clothes and FIG. 11 b is a schematic side view of thisspacer.

A spacer 11 e shown in FIG. 11 has nearly the same structure as thespacer shown in FIG. 8, and has a nearly flat base 15 e and a pluralityof projections 16 e. Hereupon, each of the projections 16 e is formednearly in the shape of a semicircle. This spacer 11 e is manufactured bymolding a meshed member.

Cloth is used as a meshed member being a material for the spacer 11 e.And plastic is impregnated into parts of cloth corresponding to theprojections 16 e. In order to manufacture this spacer 11 e, meshed clothis first put in a specific mold. And the spacer 11 e can be manufacturedby pouring plastic into only the parts of the mold corresponding to theprojections. Thus, such a spacer 11 e is particularly excellent inflexibility due to its base 15 e made of cloth.

Although the case that a plurality of projections protrude on only oneside of the base has been described in the spacer shown in FIG. 11, aplurality of projections may protrude on both sides of the base.

Although the case that a dehumidifier air passage of the presentinvention is applied to a dehumidifier for removing moisture exhaledfrom a human body has been described in the above-mentioned embodiments,it can be also applied to a dehumidifier for removing moisture exhaledfrom an animal other than a human being or a dehumidifier for removingmoisture exhaled from a plant.

As described above, in a dehumidifier air passage according to thepresent invention, by using a spacer having a nearly flat base and aplurality of projections as a spacer, it is possible to make asufficient amount of air flow through the spacer. Due to this, asufficient effect of dehumidification can be obtained in case ofapplying such a dehumidifier air passage to a dehumidifying cushion, adehumidifying mat, a dehumidifying mattress, dehumidifying clothes andthe like. And since such a spacer can be easily manufactured by amolding method and the like, a dehumidifier air passage of the presentinvention is excellent in mass productivity.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

As described above, the present invention can be applied to adehumidifier such as a dehumidifying cushion, a dehumidifying mat, adehumidifying mattress, dehumidifying clothes and the like for removingmoisture by making the outside air flow in the vicinity of the surfaceof a human body and the like.

1. A dehumidifier air passage to be used in a dehumidifier, comprising amoisture transmittable member provided at a side to be in contact with aliving thing and a nearly flat spacer for supporting said moisturetransmittable member and for securing a space through which air flows,said dehumidifier carrying off the moisture transmitted into said spacethrough said moisture transmittable member from the surface of saidliving thing by means of air flowing through said space, wherein saidspacer has a nearly flat base and a plurality of projections andcomprises a cut or molded foamed plastic material, and said dehumidifierair passage has a force distributing means for distributing and applyinga force applied from said living thing to said spacer, said forcedistributing means being provided between said moisture transmittablemember and said spacer.
 2. A dehumidifier air passage to be used in adehumidifier, comprising a moisture transmittable member provided at aside to be in contact with a living thing and a nearly flat spacer forsupporting said moisture transmittable member and for securing a spacethrough which air flows, said dehumidifier carrying off the moisturetransmitted into said space through said moisture transmittable memberfrom the surface of said living thing by means of air flowing throughsaid space, wherein said spacer has a nearly flat base and a pluralityof projections and comprises a plastic film having a plurality of moldeddepressions and a pressure resistive material in said depressions.
 3. Adehumidifier air passage to be used in a dehumidifier, comprising amoisture transmittable member provided at a side to be in contact with aliving thing and a nearly flat spacer for supporting said moisturetransmittable member and for securing a space through which air flows,said dehumidifier carrying off the moisture transmitted into said spacethrough said moisture transmittable member from the surface of saidliving thing by means of air flowing through said space, wherein saidspacer has a nearly flat base and a plurality of projections joined ontosaid base.
 4. A dehumidifier air passage to be used in a dehumidifier,comprising a moisture transmittable member provided at a side to be incontact with a living thing and a nearly flat spacer for supporting saidmoisture transmittable member and for securing a space through which airflows, said dehumidifier carrying off the moisture transmitted into saidspace through said moisture transmittable member from the surface ofsaid living thing by means of air flowing through said space, whereinsaid spacer is a molded meshed member.
 5. A dehumidifying clothes airpassage to be used in dehumidifying clothes, comprising a nearly flatspacer for securing a space through which air flows between a human bodyor underwear and a clothes material, said dehumidifying clothes carryingoff the moisture which has come into said space from the surface of saidhuman body by means of air flowing through said space, wherein saidspacer is a molded meshed member.
 6. A dehumidifier air passageaccording to claim 2, 3 or 4, comprising a force distributing means fordistributing and applying a force applied from said living thing to saidspacer, said force distributing means being provided between saidmoisture transmittable member and said spacer.
 7. A dehumidifier airpassage according to claim 1, wherein said force distributing means isformed into one body together with said moisture transmittable member.8. A dehumidifier air passage according to claim 2 or 3, wherein ameshed material is provided between said spacer and said moisturetransmittable member, and said meshed material is joined to saidplurality of projections so as not to slacken.
 9. A dehumidifier airpassage according to claim 1, wherein said force distributing means isjoined to said plurality of projections so as not to slacken.
 10. Adehumidifier air passage according to claim 2 or 3, wherein saidmoisture transmittable member is joined to said plurality of projectionsso as not to slacken.
 11. A dehumidifier air passage according to claim1, 2 or 3, wherein each of said projections is formed so that the faceof it facing said moisture transmittable member is at most 50% in areaof the face being in contact with said base.
 12. A dehumidifier airpassage to be used in a dehumidifier, comprising a moisturetransmittable mat provided at a side to be in contact with a livingthing and a nearly flat spacer for supporting said moisturetransmittable mat and for securing a space through which air flows, saiddehumidifier carrying off the moisture transmitted into said spacethrough said moisture transmittable mat from the surface of said livingthing by means of air flowing through said space, wherein said spacerhas a nearly flat base and a plurality of rail-shaped projections formedin parallel with one another on said base and is is extruded, and saiddehumidifier air passage has an element disposed between said spacer andsaid moisture transmittable mat to distribute and apply a force appliedfrom said living thing to said spacer.
 13. A dehumidifier air passage tobe used in a dehumidifier, comprising a moisture transmittable matprovided at a side to be in contact with a living thing and a nearlyflat spacer for supporting said moisture transmittable mat and forsecuring a space through which air flows, said dehumidifier carrying offthe moisture transmitted into said space through said moisturetransmittable mat from the surface of said living thing by means of airflowing through said space, wherein said moisture transmittable mat hasa thermal insulation ability and the air content of said moisturetransmittable mat is at least 0.05 cc per area of 1 cm² in a planenearly perpendicular to the direction of thickness of said spacer.
 14. Adehumidifier air passage according to claim 13, comprising an elementdisposed between said spacer and said moisture transmittable mat todistribute and apply a force applied from said living thing to saidspacer.
 15. A dehumidifier air passage according to claim 13 or 14,comprising a cushion material provided under said spacer.
 16. Adehumidifier air passage according to claim 6, wherein said forcedistributing means is formed into one body together with said moisturetransmittable member.